Locust flight metabolism studied in vivo by 31P NMR spectroscopy

Flight metabolism of locusts has been extensively studied, but biochemical and physiological methods have led to conflicting results. For this reason the non-invasive and non-destructive method of 31P NMR spectroscopy was used to study migratory locusts, Locusta migratoria, at rest and during flight. 1. In the flight muscle of resting locusts the ratio of phosphoarginine to ATP was the same whether determined by NMR (1.76) or biochemically, but the NMR-visible content of inorganic phosphate (Pi) was only 40% of ATP, i.e., much lower than total Pi as determined biochemically. This suggests that most of the Pi in flight muscle is not free, and hence not available as substrate or effector for …